ISTANBUL

During his trial, the assassin of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for the first time expressed remorse.

"I am terribly sorry for the inconvenience caused by this outcome," Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, who fatally shot Abe during an election event in 2022, said at the 10th hearing at the Nara District Court on Thursday, according to Kyodo News.

It was his first statement in court since the trial began in October.

The defense counsel argued that Yamagami grew increasingly "vengeful" toward the Unification Church – now dissolved in Japan – because of his circumstances, including his mother’s large donation to the group, which strained the family’s finances, and his brother’s suicide in 2015.

Yamagami claimed that he targeted Abe because Abe's grandfather, Nobusuke Kishi, who also served as prime minister, helped introduce the church to Japan, the outlet reported, citing investigative sources.

The controversial church, formed in 1954 by a staunch anti-communist in neighboring South Korea, was ordered dissolved in Japan this March.

Yamagami’s assassination of Abe exposed links between the church and lawmakers from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in Japan.

The Nara District Court is scheduled to issue a ruling on the case in January.